Cable ties are well-known and typically inexpensive single-use devices for supporting loops of one or more elongated articles, such as electrical cords, ropes, garden hoses, and the like. Most cable tie designs include a tail with a plurality of teeth that engage a head when the tail and the head are moved together to form a closed-loop. The head includes a pawl or lip that engages one or more teeth to prevent the tail from disengaging the head. Most cable tie designs are cut and discarded after use or when the article is to be unwound.
Cable clasps are also well-known and typically more expensive than cable ties; however, most cable clasps are more durable than cable ties. Like cable ties, cable clasps include a tail having a plurality of teeth that engage a head to form a closed-loop and prevent the tail from disengaging the head. However, cable clasps also permit the tail to be released from the head, and therefore are reusable.
In some cases, cable clasps have similar body structures to those of some cable ties. For example, some cable clasps include a head and a tail that are integrally formed as a single-piece flexible device. In contrast, other cable clasps include separate hingedly-connected head and tail sections that are formed as relatively rigid components. In any case, previous cable clasp designs normally occupy an open-loop position in which the tail is spaced apart from the head. That is, a user must force the tail and the head together to close the loop and secure the article within the cable clasp. Such a task can be difficult to perform in certain situations. For example, it may be difficult for a single user to lift a heavy garden hose and then close a cable clasp around the hose.
The normally open-loop structure of previous cable clasp designs is also disadvantageous for several additional reasons. For example, two or more cable clasps can become “tangled” when not in use and stored together, for example, in a box or trunk; such a situation may cause difficulty and frustration for a user attempting to remove a single cable clasp. As another example, the free ends of the tail and the head do not support each other in the open-loop position, and therefore each is less durable. As such, abrupt contact between an external object and one of the free ends is more likely to damage the cable clasp in the open-loop position.
Considering the drawbacks of previous cable clasp designs, an improved cable clasp design is needed. Such an improved cable clasp is preferably easy to use and durable compared to previous designs.